-Caveat Lector-
WJPBR Email News List [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Peace at any cost is a Prelude to War!
China places second missile base near Taiwan
By Bill Gertz
THE WASHINGTON TIMES
A U.S. spy satellite detected a newly completed Chinese missile base
opposite Taiwan in the past two weeks, The Washington Times has learned.
The base is located where China has placed its newest short-range
missiles, which target the island, U.S. intelligence officials say.
The missile base, detected in spy-satellite photographs, is located
several miles northeast of Xianyou and some 135 miles from Taiwan. Nearly 100
CSS-7 short-range ballistic missiles and mobile launchers are deployed there.
The base is the second short-range missile base for CSS-7s, said
officials familiar with intelligence reports of the discovery.
"It gives them two facilities with sevens [CSS-7s] that are within range
of Taiwan," a senior administration official said.
Disclosure of the finished missile base comes as the Bush administration
is debating whether to provide Taiwan with advanced weaponry that would
include advanced Patriot missile defenses, four Aegis-equipped guided missile
destroyers and four Kidd-class destroyers. A decision on the arms sales is
expected next month.
Discovery of the new base coincides with the visit this week to China by
Adm. Dennis Blair, commander in chief of the U.S. Pacific Command. During his
four-day visit, Adm. Blair will discuss Taiwan issues with Chinese military
leaders and visit Nanjing province, home of the newly finished base.
Chinese Vice Prime Minister Qian Qichen, set to visit Washington next
week, is expected to lobby against U.S. arms sales to Taiwan among other
issues.
White House spokeswoman Mary Ellen Countryman would not say whether
President Bush will discuss the Chinese missile buildup with Mr. Qian.
"Our discussions will cover a range of bilateral, regional and global
issues," she said.
U.S. intelligence agencies tracked a train loaded with missiles and
launchers from a factory in central China to the base, said the officials,
who spoke to The Washington Times on the condition of anonymity.
A second trainload of the missiles, along with the transporter
erector-launchers, was set to leave the factory last week, they said.
The missiles are believed to be stored inside underground bunkers
designed to protect the weaponry from U.S. precision-guided missile strikes.
Construction of the bases was first reported by The Times in November 1999.
The CSS-7 base near Xianyou is the second for new short-range missiles.
The first, near Yongan, was completed last year. There is still another
missile base farther north. It is at Leping, a regional headquarters for all
missile forces that harbors up to 100 CSS-6 missiles.
In a recent interview, a senior military officer said the massing of
short-range missiles is increasing instability across the Taiwan Strait and
justifying future sales of U.S. missile defenses to Taiwan.
The senior official said the Chinese "keep on building" the missile
forces, and now there are between 200 and 300 CSS-7 and CSS-6 missiles
opposite Taiwan.
If the buildup continues, the official said, "we're going to make
theater missile systems available to the Taiwanese."
A Pentagon spokesman, Rear Adm. Craig Quigley, declined to comment on
the new missile base, citing a policy of not discussing intelligence matters.
However, he said the Pentagon closely monitors Chinese military
developments.
"It is no secret that China is modernizing and improving its military
capability and a lot of that includes capabilities for reaching out to
Taiwan," Adm. Quigley said.
"This is something we watch very carefully and it is an element that
goes into the decision-making process of meeting the legitimate defense needs
of Taiwan," he added.
The missile buildup is part of China's effort to intimidate Taiwan "or
attack Taiwan, if necessary," said Richard Fisher, a military analyst with
the Jamestown Foundation.
"We can also expect to see additional CSS-7 missiles in the Nanjing
region and in the very near future, new classes of land-attack cruise
missiles will be deployed," said Mr. Fisher, who is writing a book on China's
military.
Mr. Fisher said it is "imperative" that Mr. Bush raise the issue of
missile deployments when he meets with Mr. Qian next week.
"He should be told that this type of action will guarantee the
deployment of missile defenses in East Asia and guarantee their sale to our
friends and allies," Mr. Fisher said.
Larry Wortzel, a former U.S. military attache in Beijing, said the
short-range Chinese missiles are part of an "in-depth offensive capability
against Taiwan that is meant to degrade Taiwan's air and ground defense
capabilities."
The missile buildup provides the basis to sell Taiwan the Patriot PAC-3
missile-defense system, Kidd-class warships and eventually Aegis-equipped
guided missile ships, Mr. Wortzel said.
*COPYRIGHT NOTICE** In accordance with Title 17 U. S. C. Section 107,
any copyrighted work in this message is distributed under fair use
without profit or payment to those who have expressed a prior interest
in receiving the included information for nonprofit research and educational
purposes only.[Ref. http://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/17/107.shtml ]
Want to be on our lists? Write at [EMAIL PROTECTED] for a menu of our lists!
<A HREF="http://www.ctrl.org/">www.ctrl.org</A>
DECLARATION & DISCLAIMER
==========
CTRL is a discussion & informational exchange list. Proselytizing propagandic
screeds are unwelcomed. Substance�not soap-boxing�please! These are
sordid matters and 'conspiracy theory'�with its many half-truths, mis-
directions and outright frauds�is used politically by different groups with
major and minor effects spread throughout the spectrum of time and thought.
That being said, CTRLgives no endorsement to the validity of posts, and
always suggests to readers; be wary of what you read. CTRL gives no
credence to Holocaust denial and nazi's need not apply.
Let us please be civil and as always, Caveat Lector.
========================================================================
Archives Available at:
http://peach.ease.lsoft.com/archives/ctrl.html
<A HREF="http://peach.ease.lsoft.com/archives/ctrl.html">Archives of
[EMAIL PROTECTED]</A>
http:[EMAIL PROTECTED]/
<A HREF="http:[EMAIL PROTECTED]/">ctrl</A>
========================================================================
To subscribe to Conspiracy Theory Research List[CTRL] send email:
SUBSCRIBE CTRL [to:] [EMAIL PROTECTED]
To UNsubscribe to Conspiracy Theory Research List[CTRL] send email:
SIGNOFF CTRL [to:] [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Om
